Slate Breaker: FD CFB DFS Week 11 (Thurs)

Virginia vs Louisville

The Louisville defense is the top unit on the slate. They have allowed the 12th least total yards this year. They are far better against the run than the pass and Virginia struggles to establish any kind of a real running  game so all the Virginia RBs are fades this week. The Virginia passing attack is far more appealing. Whoever plays QB this week for Virginia will be a solid DFS option. Both QBs have passed for 200+ yards in every full game they have played so at a price of just $8,600, the Virginia QBs can provide solid value with solid yardage totals and a score or two. The Virginia pass catchers are very easy to attack. Play Malik Washington and Malachi Fields and no one else. Fields and Washington are almost the entirety of this Virginia attack with both locked into a high usage role, I love a heavy Virginia stack this week. Virginia's QB paired Fields and Washington has explosive potential. On the Louisville side of things, injuries make navigating this slate tough. I love the Louisville running game, but is Jawhar Jordan truly healthy and able to handle his usual workload? After playing on Saturday, Louisville is coming in on a short week and Jawhar reaggravated a hamstring injury and had to sit out part of the game. Louisville claims that Jordan is healthy this week, but am I really to believe that after going down in week 10, he is ready to step into a full workload after just 5 days. Jordan is a great back so even if he is limited he is a solid option because he is a big play machine. But with the possibility of Jordan being limited, his backfield mate Isaac Guerendo is a solid play this week. He too is a great player and will likely have an increased workload with Jordan likely limited due to injuries. Jordan is not Louisville's only big injury. They are also dealing with an injury to their WR1 Jamari Thrash. If Thrash plays, he is an amazing fantasy option. He has 70 yards in every game but one with elite upside. He will be worth paying up for if he is available. If he is out, there will be some great values to utilize, but there is no obvious candidate to step into that WR1 role as no other Louisville WR is a big difference maker. I like Chris Bell and Jadon Thompson the most out of the bunch, but they are still big gambles with no proven track record of production. QB Jack Plummer is not worthy of his slate high price and I will completely fading him. Plummer has only scored 20+ twice all year and has scored less than 12 FD points in 5 straight games so his $11,000 price is very unreasonable.

Southern Miss vs Louisiana

The Southern Miss offense has been fairly good in recent weeks, but that production came against some weak defenses. This week they face a tougher Louisiana defense that should lead to a bit of regression for the Southern Miss offense. No matter how productive this Southern Miss offense is, Frank Gore Jr. is a solid option. Gore is a bonafide workhorse back and will see 25+ opportunities. That kind of usage alone is enough to make Gore a great play. QB Billy Wiles is a mediocre option at best. He is a decent passer who can rack up some yardage, but he lacks mobility leading to basically no rushing output. He has failed to score more than 12 FD points in 4 straight games and has only scored more than 20 points once in his past 8 games so there are better options than Wiles this week. The Southern Miss offense produces decent passing numbers and WRs Latreal Jones, Jakarius Caston and Tiaquelin Mims are basically the entirety of the passing game. With the passing game so consolidated, all three make decent plays with Jakarius Caston being the best option of the 3. This is a week of transition for the Louisiana offense. Chandler Fields is once again the starting QB for Louisiana and he was a decent producer last year. He was not a great passer but balanced out his production with his decent running abilities. If Fields can put it all together, he could end up as the highest scorer on the slate which is not applicable to most of the QBs on this limited slate. RB Jacob Kibodi has been the lead back for most of the year, but he has been losing work to Dre'lyn Washington. Washington has double digit carries in back to back weeks. Southern Miss is very bad against the run so there will be value here but it is risky with this becoming more of a timeshare. Louisiana passing production will be hard to predict especially with Fields at QB, but there are two guys I like. WR Peter LeBlanc is the leading receiver for this team so if this offense produces, LeBlanc will have played a major role in it. TE Neal Johnson is another solid option as he will provide a solid safety blanket for Fields as he is still getting his feet wet. Louisiana does like to spread it around in the passing game so any Louisiana receiver could go off for 50+ yards and a score, but most of their WRs are complete gambles especially with Fields at QB.

Dream Team

QB: Chandler Fields, Louisiana (vs Southern Miss)

RB1: Jawhar Jordan, Louisville (vs Virginia)

RB2: Frank Gore Jr., Southern Miss (@ Louisiana)

WR1: Malik Washington, Virginia (@ Louisville)

WR2: Malachi Fields, Virginia (@ Louisville)

WR3: Neal Johnson, Louisiana (vs Southern Miss)

Flex: Tony Muskett, Virginia (@ Louisville)

**DISCLAIMER: Remember, sports and fantasy are supposed to be fun. Please play responsibly.**